"A US Airways plane crashed into the Hudson River on Thursday afternoon after striking a bird that disabled two engines, sending passengers fleeing for safety in the frigid waters, a government official says. Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Laura Brown says the US Airways Flight 1549 had just taken off from LaGuardia Airport enroute to Charlotte, N.C., when the crash occurred in the river near 48th Street in midtown Manhattan. Brown says the plane, an Airbus 320, appears to have hit one or more birds."

"US Airways pilots executed a dramatic emergency landing Thursday on the Hudson River near midtown Manhattan, saving the lives of all 150 passengers and five crew members aboard Flight 1549.

The Airbus A320 twin-engine jetliner -- enroute to Charlotte, N.C. -- landed at 3:31 p.m., a few minutes after leaving New York's LaGuardia Airport. The water landing of a large passenger aircraft without fatalities is a feat rarely seen in 50 years of commercial jet travel, according to air-safety experts.

Passenger and witnesses described a smooth landing on the Hudson and then a scramble for emergency exits. Within minutes, ferry boats surrounded the aircraft as it floated in 40-degree water and helped pull passengers from the wing. The U.S. Coast Guard dropped life vests and divers.

US Airways officials said Thursday it was too soon to determine the cause of the accident. The crew reported flying through a flock of geese, which were sucked into both engines, said a person at the Federal Aviation Administration familiar with conversations between the flight crew and air-traffic controllers. The damaged engines continued to run but weren't generating enough power, this person said."